Baton Rouge’s decrepit road infrastructure is a paradoxical symbol of political malign. Louisiana Democrats believe road infrastructure is underfunded and Republicans believe it’s inefficient, and they’re just as right as they are wrong. The Transportation Trust Fund is both underfunded and inefficient. Both political parties, however, agree that deficient roads have a big economic impact both locally and nationally.
Nationally, driving on poor roads costs motorists approximately $112 billion in additional repair and operating per year. Moreover, traffic congestion wasted 6.9 billion hours of driver’s travel time and nearly 3.1 billion gallons of fuel. Between poor road conditions and traffic, motorists and businesses alike lose billions annually in terms of time and money.
Louisianans are especially impacted by deficient road infrastructure. In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Louisiana a D+ grade. Other than this state’s public education system, which is of a quality closer to a third-world country than the most prosperous country in the history of the world, this state’s lack of road infrastructure serves as an anchor for economic growth. Road infrastructure in this state is truly pitiful, and for many it’s representative of a government that serves itself better than its citizens.
Nothing epitomizes the inefficiencies of state government quite like the liberal usage of traffic cones. While traffic cones are traditionally used as devices to temporarily direct traffic away from ongoing construction projects, here in Louisiana they are more often used to signal or cover potholes for indefinite periods of time.
Before attending the University and living in Baton Rouge, I had never quite appreciated the utility of traffic cones. I would be inclined to marvel at such ingenuity, except for acknowledging the suspension damage that has been done to my car in my three years here. Although, in spite of a state government that sabotages the welfare of its citizens on a much too frequent basis, the humble traffic cone is rarely celebrated for its contribution to Baton Rouge.
The simple solution for Democrats is to raise taxes, which would work if this state’s government wasn’t as corrupt as it is incompetent and self-sabotaging. For example, from 1991 to 2015 state police robbed the Transportation Trust Fund of $679 million to pay for traffic control. The irony of the state police stealing money from taxpayers is certainly not lost on Louisianans whose view of government is justifiably bleak.
Louisiana is in quite of a paradigm, but maybe it’s unduly pessimistic to say that things can’t be turned around — that taxpayer money will be appropriately allocated to improving road infrastructure. Maybe state bureaucrats will do right by the good people of Louisiana. However, with only 11 percent of the Transportation Trust Fund’s money going toward road and bridge projects, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
For many Louisianans, all hope is lost for much needed infrastructure improvements. It almost certainly contributes to the exodus of LSU students upon receiving an undergraduate degree. Of the LSU student body, 83 percent are from Louisiana and roughly half stay in the state after graduating. Soon, I may be among that percentage of students who can’t justify staying, and while poor road infrastructure wasn’t the sole cause, it definitely didn’t help.
Patrick Gagen is a 21-year-old mass communication and finance senior from Suwanee, Georgia.
